79-254 A Global History of Crime and Punishment
9–12 units, Carnegie Mellon University
This course covers the history of crime and punishment, beginning in the Middle Ages and ending in the present. We will examine numerous cases, from justice as practiced in African villages to the workhouses created by the British Poor Laws to the Gulag labor camp system in the Soviet Union to the rise of the penitentiary in Europe and the United States. We will read about crime and punishment in the United States, looking at various models from the work gang to solitary confinement. We end by examining the era of mass incarceration to understand how it became a solution to larger problems in American society. The course will be taught as part of the CMU Prison Education project and will take place inside Somerset State Correctional Institution. CMU students will learn alongside incarcerated students. All receive full credit for the course. This course meets the Dietrich Gen Ed "Perspectives on Justice and Injustice" requirement. We travel on the bus to and from Somerset prison. The bus leaves CMU on Fridays at 12:30 and returns at 6:45. Class time inside the prison runs from 2:30-5:10. An application for admission to the course is required. As part of your registration for this CMU Prison Education Project course, please fill out this brief questionnaire so that the instructor may address your questions/concerns in advance: https://forms.gle/XNF2jsaEEcUgEhxm9.
Prerequisites: none listed
Offered: Spring 2026
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